“Hallelujah! Happy is the person who fears the Lord, taking great delight in His commands.” Psalm 112:1 CSB
God, commands Joshua to be strong and courageous in the face of his enemies (Joshua 1:9 NIV). He commands us to do the same thing, knowing, He is with us always, we aren’t facing our fears alone (Deut. 31:6). When we fear the Lord more than our personal fears, we can look fear in the eye, and watch it disappear. I had the opportunity to do just that when we went on our trip to Colorado.
When Ron and I first started talking about what I wanted to do for my 50th, I decided I wanted to overcome my fear of horses. I’ve been afraid of them since I was a child. I slipped and fell while feeding a couple of horses apples. They were playing, all I remember seeing is the big hoof come down right beside my head, only inches away. I’ve been afraid of them ever since. I didn’t know how, I just thought there are plenty of horses out west, surely it’s a good place to start. As the trip progressed, I forgot about my desire to overcome my fear, but God didn’t. One day, while Ron and I were exploring on our bikes, I found an old windmill, I was trying to take pictures. Ron had ridden ahead of me, I was all alone. I was so engrossed in taking pictures, I didn’t see the big, black stallion in the corner, just a few yards away from me. He was in a small shelter, drinking water. He turned, walking out towards me, that’s when I heard him. I looked at him, instant fear gripped me, but then his magnificent beauty took my breath away. I forgot to be afraid. Then I realized, he noticed me. As I looked in his eyes, I saw HIS fear of ME. For the first time, a truth people have tried to tell me all of my life finally took root. Horses really are more afraid of us than we are of them. I looked my fear in the eye and I saw truth.
I’m not saying I’ll be out riding in the fields tomorrow, but I did take a step to overcoming my fear of horses by looking the Big Guy in the eyes. We have to start somewhere if we are going to overcome our fears. We have to take a step towards our fear, rather than always running away from it. We have to stop hiding from our fear and letting it control us. Bringing our fears into the light is the first step to overcoming them. When we do, we begin to realize, we never had anything to be afraid of in the first place. God is always with us, with Him, there is no fear, with Him we can stand strong, be courageous and look our fear in the eye. In Him we can overcome.
